


It Means 'I Love You'

by nerav



Category: THE iDOLM@STER, THE iDOLM@STER: SideM
Genre: Angst, Birthday, Established Relationship, Fluff, Humor, Language of Flowers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-03-21
Packaged: 2019-04-05 13:37:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14045403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerav/pseuds/nerav
Summary: It’s hard to find a flower like Minori, in more ways than one. (Written for Minori's birthday.)





	It Means 'I Love You'

Kyoji hardly knew a thing about flowers, but even he was taken in by the vivid colors of the bouquets displayed in front of him. His eyes studied each petal with meticulous detail. Even amongst the bouquets with mixed arrangements, he was able to spot the sunflowers, dandelions, roses, and violets, among various other wild flowers.

Once he finished carefully studying the selection, he let out a deep sigh. Even Pierre could sense the disappointment in his voice, his pupils slowly shifting toward him.

“Sorry,” Kyoji mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. “I can’t find what we’re looking for.”

The florist raised her eyebrows. “Really? But we have the most popular flowers from across the seas! What exactly are you looking for, may I ask?”

“I’m looking for….” He paused as he tried to remember the name. He said it a thousand times at this point, and he still couldn’t memorize it. “Zinnia, I think it was.”

“Zinnia….” She rubbed her chin as she contemplated. After a few seconds, she clasped her hand and bowed. “Oh, forgive me. I don’t think we have that. But if you’re looking for something similar, I can show you―”

“It’s okay,” he interrupted. “We’ll look elsewhere, I guess.”

“Does it have to be zinnia in particular? There’s a shortage of them at the moment, I’m afraid.”

He crumbled his fingertips. “Unfortunately, yeah.”

“I see….”

Frowning, Kyoji turned to leave the store, Pierre following after him. Before he crossed through the door, Pierre looked back and waved to the florist with a beaming smile.

The sun was already beginning to set, washing the city with a golden glow. Darkness was slowly creeping through the city with each passing minute, meaning the stores would start to close soon. With no other choice, they would have to give up for today. Again.

Kyoji walked with his head down all the way, until they reached a deserted street. With enough privacy―save for Pierre’s personal bodyguards who hid among the bushes nearby―it was a good opportunity to go over their plan once more.

“Nothing again,” he sighed. “I didn’t think it’d be this difficult….”

“Don’t give up, Kyoji!” Pierre said, shaking his balled fists. “We’ll find it eventually!”

“I hope so,” he murmured in a deflated volume. If only he could share Pierre’s unwavering optimism right now. “It’s almost time.”

He silently cursed at himself for waiting until the last minute.

In his defense, he still had work to do at 315 Productions, and he assumed it would be as simple as walking in and out of a store. After all, it wasn’t like they were trying to get a rare CD for one of his favorite idols, or tickets to a lottery-driven show; it was only a flower. More specifically, a flower that truly symbolized such an important member of their unit.

Zinnia. In the language of the flowers, it meant “loyalty”.

The single word spoke volumes about Minori’s character. Dependable, benevolent, devoted were only just a few ways to describe Minori so perfectly and his almost motherly affection for the duo. It wasn’t just about his relationship to Beit either. He was loyal to his uncle and his fascination with the idol industry, to the producer in doing his very best on stage, to his fans who worship him, and to everyone around him really.

It was the perfect flower. Unfortunately, as Kyoji realized with each passing hour, the flower was just as hard to find as Minori himself. With the sudden shortage of them, not even Pierre’s bodyguards had the resources to secure one. (Then again, judging by their shrug and headshake, perhaps they didn’t even know how to convey it in Japanese.) With only one more day left until Minori’s birthday, Kyoji was at a complete loss.

“I know!” Pierre suddenly said. His eyes shimmered with excitement. “We should ask the other idols to help us!”

Kyoji blinked over the suggestion. “That’s… not a bad idea, actually.”

Typically, Kyoji preferred not to bother people for his own needs. But at this point, he was desperate. He already pushed himself to an anxious fit speaking with a dozen florists, so why stop there? And it was true that the idols were skilled in more than just singing and dancing. A number of them came from interesting professions, some even maintaining them still.

Pierre nodded. “Mm-hmn! We’ll definitely find it with their help! As soon as we rise and shine, I’ll ask them right away!”

“Thanks Pierre,” he said.

It was good to have him by his side. At last, his lips curled to a tiny smile at such an equally small hope.

 

* * *

 

The first person that came to mind was Tendou Teru. Teru was one of the eldest members of the agency, and was always willing to assist the other idols without hesitation. Being a former lawyer was also a perk; with his research skills needed to study and practice law, he could certainly locate the source of zinnia for them.

As soon as Kyoji spotted DRAMATIC STARS leaving their rehearsal room, he mustered up the courage to speak with him.

“Oh,” Teru said, smiling. “Sounds like you guys have the perfect gift in mind!”

“That’s really so sweet of you guys,” Tsubasa added with his usual warmth. “I’m sure Minori- _san_ will be very happy when you give him that.”

“I’ll do whatever I can to help!” Teru exclaimed, raising his fist high. “After all….”

Suddenly, his face transformed into a devilish smirk. He thrust his elbow right against Kyoji’s arm, nudging him a few times. Kyoji was so baffled by the forceful push that he let out a silent gasp.

“I know you _especially_ want to please Minori- _san_ ,” he said. The expression on his face was borderline harassment. “Trying to win his heart with the old bouquet method, huh? Got any _other_ plans after that?”

“T-Teru- _san_!” Tsubasa stammered, looking just as horrified as Kyoji was. “Don’t be so creepy!”

“Other plans?” Pierre said, tilting his head. He glanced back at Kyoji in bewilderment. “Hey, Kyoji, what other plans do we have for―”

“T-There is none,” Kyoji quickly said, averting his flushed face. There was no way in hell he’d let this conversation go on; Pierre was far too innocent to grasp those coarse implications, and he definitely wasn’t going to be the one to explain it to him.

After a few seconds of snickering, Teru returned to his more professional appearance. “Well, anyway, you can definitely count on me to get the job done.”

“No, you are definitely _not_.”

Kyoji blinked. He recognized that stern voice anywhere. As soon as he turned around, his hunch was verified.

“K-Kaoru- _san_ ,” Tsuabasa said. “How come we can’t help?”

Kaoru stood with his arms crossed, head held high. “Have you two forgotten that we have a show in just a few days as well? We still have much to practice on.”

Teru glared at him. “Oh, come on! It’s just a day, what are we―”

“Let me elaborate then,” Kaoru said, adjusting his glasses. “You still keep mixing up the routines. Kashiwagi still ends on a note too high during our chorus. In our last rehearsal, a stage prop collapsed and disrupted our coordination. Even my stamina still needs strengthening. The producer put far too much time and money to ensure our success, so we mustn’t disappoint him.”

The other two unitmates were dumbstruck silent. He seemed to have hit multiple nerves at once, and it was working. Once the realization dawned on them, Teru looked back at Kyoji with a guilt-ridden face.

“Sorry, Kyoji,” Teru said. “As much as I hate to admit it, he’s got a point.”

“It’s alright,” Kyoji said, nodding. “We appreciate the support anyway.”

“Good luck, you guys!” Pierre said. “Be sure to show your best _happy smile_ , Kaoru!”

Even ice-king Kaoru couldn’t remain solemn at such a pure statement. He awkwardly forced the best smile he could muster. “A-Ah,” he mumbled, lips twitching. “Of course….”

 

* * *

 

Brushing aside the first disappointment of the day, Kyoji looked elsewhere, particularly for someone who had more time and energy to assist. Thankfully, he didn’t need to look far for one; in fact, the person who fit the bill approached him first.

“Hey hey, Kyoji- _chi_! Pierre- _chi_!”

“Ah,” Pierre said, looking behind. “Hi, Shiki!”

“G-Good morning,” Kyoji said, flustered by the cutesy name calling.

The embodiment of hyper, Iseya Shiki, was nearly hopping with adrenaline. Normally, he was tagging along with his unit, pestering Jun to the point of provocation with his antics, but this time, he was alone.

“I heard you guys are looking for a perfect gift for Minori- _chi_!”

“That’s right!” Pierre said.

“That’s so _super mega_ awesome!” Shiki exclaimed in his usual tone-deaf volume. “I’ll definitely want to help! I’m considered the best in my class at getting people to listen to me!”

Kyoji ignored his inner voice explaining how little Shiki gave them a choice in the matter. But the offer was appreciated nevertheless. “Thanks, Iseya- _kun_.”

Shiki gave a cheeky grin. “You can definitely count on me! I’ll give it my best! After all, I got all sorts of ideas to assist, so good thing you came running to me."

They didn’t, but Kyoji felt it best to humor him. “How so?”

“Weeeellll….” He raised his index finger. “Step number one: Blast the social media!”

“Awesome!” Pierre chimed in with similar glee, eyes sparkling.

He put up his middle finger. “Step number two: Hand out a dozen flyers!”

“Wow, so many!”

A third finger rose. “Step number three: Broadcast in radio stations!”

“Amazing!”

The pattern continued the longer he went on. “Step number four: Make a long road trip around the city and shout at all the crowds!”

“That sounds like so much fun!”

Shiki pumped his fist to the air. “And finally, shout at the top of mountains, so everyone will be watching you!”

“You’re so amazing, Shiki!”

“That’s all very nice, but―” Kyoji finally interjected in between the constant back-and-forth shouts, “―would there be enough time for you to do all that? … Minori- _san_ ’s birthday is tomorrow.”

“Oh,” Shiki lowered his hand, “It’s that soon? Really?”

“Yeah.”

Suddenly, all the energy left Shiki’s face. He clasped his hands and bent over. “I forgot, I have to cram for an exam tomorrow, so… Sorry!”

 

* * *

 

Kyoji learned a lesson from the last attempt and sought out for a more intellectual idol instead. The first one he happened to run into was Chris Koron from Legenders. He knew Chris was rather too blabby about oceanography, but he figured it wouldn’t hurt asking a former assistant professor, weird as he may be.

“I’m very sorry,” Chris said, promptly dashing whatever hope Kyoji stubbornly held onto. He dipped in a small bow before lifting up again. “As much as I would love to help, I have an important expedition to partake, so I wouldn’t have time to research for you. But if you’re both having such difficulty finding it, perhaps you should consider an alternative instead?”

“I….” He had a point. Kyoji half-wondered the same thing. “I want to keep trying still. But… maybe, if it comes down to it….”

“If I could make a suggestion, I would recommend getting something similar to your flower.”

“I don’t even know where to start for that….”

“I wish I could assist you, but unfortunately, I’m not very versed with botany… Although, I do know of a wonderful fish you can purchase for Watanabe- _san_ instead!”

Kyoji blinked rapidly. “What?”

“Please, tell us more!” Pierre exclaimed in blissful innocence.

“It’s called the flowerhorn cichlid. It shares a similar beautiful color scheme as the red zinnias.”

Kyoji scratched his chin. “I don’t know if Minori- _san_ would want―”

“In fact!” Chris’s eyes lit up. “Did you know that they’re sought after heavily through extensive breeding? There’s no scientific name for them because they’re a unique man-made hybrid. In some countries, they’re considered to be a symbol of good fortune. Their average life span is at least approximately 10, and they’re very large in size, making them perfect aquarium fish. Ideally, you should have a tank of at least 55 or more gallons of water, and the temperature should be around 26°C. In addition―”

Kyoji quickly blanked out from the heavy ocean jargon. He quickly regretted opening his mouth and unearthing this Pandora’s Box as Chris went on and on.

Surprisingly, Pierre seemed intent on listening to the whole spiel. Kyoji, however, wasn’t having any of it. They were already wasting enough time as it was. Without saying anything, he grasped Pierre’s shoulder and escorted him as far away as possible. Chris continued rambling, unaware that his audience was no longer present.

 

* * *

 

Their last resort at the end of the day was FRAME. They had the most available time compared to the other units, as they just recently had a show with Sai. When Kyoji shared their sob story to the trio, unlike everyone else, they took action immediately. Like a squadron of tactical soldiers, they separated into divisions, and searched at different ends of the city for those flowers.

Hours passed without hearing from any of them. The studio was slowly growing emptier and emptier. Kyoji was eventually forced to leave the building himself. He stayed by the entrance and waited for their return. When he was almost ready to give up, he heard someone shout in the distance.

“I did it! I did it, guys!”

His eyes widened.

With a cold sweat, he looked to the side and saw Ryu running towards them. With the sunset eclipsing over him from the horizon, he was practically radiant. Ryu glowed further, bearing the biggest smile on his face. As the blurry sight of Ryu became more and more clear with each step, Kyoji heard his heart beat rapidly.

In Ryu’s hand was a full bouquet of white zinnias.

“N-No way,” he mumbled, his pupils quivering. He almost wanted to pinch himself to check if he was dreaming.

Pierre faced him, smiling. “Kyoji, we did it! Now Minori will have the happiest smile ever!”

At last, he felt his lips curling into a smile too. “Yeah….”

“I did, guys! I found it! I―”

Then, just as soon as Kyoji felt the euphoria of excitement, accident-prone Ryu struck once again.

With a groan, he slipped against the manhole cover on the streets. The bouquet slipped from his hands and flew a few feet in front of him. Following that, a car sped through at the same location, obliterating the flowers in a single blow. Petals swept with the wind, leaving behind only a half-living shrub.

Kyoji could only watch helplessly as the petals floated away, along with his crushed hopes. He was too numb to move his feet, even when Pierre rushed to assist the distraught Ryu.

 

* * *

 

It was dark.

Pierre’s bodyguards were ready to escort their prince back home. Before leaving, Pierre begged for just a few minutes longer, just so he could speak with Kyoji. After some persistence, Pierre resorted to using a cutesy face to woo them into blind agreement.

“Kyoji,” Pierre murmured, slowly walking up to him. “Tomorrow is Minori’s birthday… What are we going to do?”

There was a pregnant pause. Kyoji clenched his fists and squeezed his eyes shut. “I don’t know,” he said, frankly.

“Maybe we should just get a card and a giftbox for Minori?”

“No… He deserves more than that.”

Pierre frowned. He remained silent as Kyoji contemplated intently.

Kyoji did have another option. But as soon as he was ready to voice it, the words dissipated from his throat. He tried again, putting more force into spitting it out.

“I think,” he swallowed hard, “I think I might have to ask my father for assistance.”

Just the dreaded thought made him sick to his stomach.

It was a terrible shame that the man who raised him would always be associated with such painful memories, but he couldn’t help it. It was hard to forget when he was degraded in front of his brothers, all for less-than-perfect scores on his exams. Remembering the good times proved difficult when the more recent horrors of his father disciplining him overshadowed them.

Pride was always Kyoji’s weakness, however. It was what forced him to run away in the first place. And it continued to be the one thing stopping him from kneeling and humiliating himself by begging for forgiveness from his father. Family or not, he never wanted to see that smug face again, to let him have the last laugh in the end.

But for Minori, it finally felt tempting. Even if he despised it, his love for Minori was far stronger than his disdain for his father.

Pierre, however, looked immediately adamant over the idea. “No, Kyoji! You can’t do that!”

“I don’t want to do it either,” Kyoji said, his voice nearly choking. “But what else can we….”

“If you do that, Minori wouldn’t want that gift at all! He can’t be happy if you’re sad!”

“Pierre….”

It took little coaxing for Kyoji to rethink his plan. He let out a small sigh of relief. “I’m sorry. You’re right. Minori is too kind to want that at my expense.”

“Mm-mn!” Pierre’s face was beaming. “We just need to change our thinking! I’m sure Minori would love any other gift than that! A bouquet and a _happy smile_ are the best gifts in the world!”

He patted Pierre’s head, nodding. “Thank you, Pierre.”

“It’s okay, we’re family!”

“Family….” A small smile creased his lips. “That’s right. That’s why tomorrow, Minori- _san_ wants your smile too.”

“Of course!”

 

* * *

 

At last, the day of Minori’s birthday finally arrived. By the time Kyoji arrived at work, Ken had already finished decorating the office with a plentiful amount of streamers and balloons, as if the word ‘birthday’ threw up all over the place.

Makio, the cake enthusiast, made the cake in advance. It was vanilla-flavored and layered with rose-tinted toppings, resembling a bouquet. It was such a work of art that it took Makio every fiber to resist eating his own masterpiece.

When Minori walked through the door, he was startled by the loud uproar from all the idols. A few minutes passed as Minori exchanged thanks to the birthday greetings, shaking every idol’s hand fervently. Once he was finished, he returned his attention to his unit, standing beside the birthday cake displayed on the table.

“Happy birthday, Minori- _san_ ,” Kyoji said.

“Happy happy happy birthday, Minori!” Pierre followed after.

Before Minori could even speak, Kyoji handed over a wrapped up bouquet to him. Gasping silently, he accepted the flowers.

“It’s just roses,” Kyoji murmured. He rubbed a hand against the back of his neck. His stomach was in knots as he studied Minori’s response. “I know it’s nothing special. You’ve probably seen these a billion times already… We really tried to get you something more special, but we couldn’t. If you want, we―”

“I _love_ it,” Minori said.

“I…” Kyoji widened his eyes. He wondered if he simply misheard him. “Wait, what?”

“I absolutely love them, Kyoji.”

“Y-You do?”

“Of course.” The warmth in Minori’s cheeks was telling enough. “It makes me so happy that you gave me this, Kyoji.”

“I helped too!” Pierre said.

Minori smiled back at him. “And you as well, Pierre.”

Kyoji was stunned speechless. The shock was so long that he could barely focus on the rest of the party. After Minori put away the bouquet, the idols joined in cutting the cake. There was still work to be done later in the day, but for the brief moment, they were allowed to mingle and converse in complete relaxation. Adding drinks onto the table, with thanks to Rui and Jiro, the room quickly turned rowdy.

When Kyoji broke back to reality, he found Minori sitting beside him against the wall. Unbeknownst to him, Minori had picked up the bouquet and removed the wrapping. He took a quick sniff at the pistols. His eyes shimmered with such adoration, as if it were truly the rarest flowers in the world.

“Hey, Kyoji,” he whispered, slowly craning his head to him. “Do you know what a rose means in the language of the flowers?”

Kyoji blinked. “Uh… Is that a trick question?”

“Of course not,” he laughed.

“Uh....” He scratched behind his head. “I can’t honestly think of it right now, sorry. I’m just so tired that my mind is drawing a blank.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll tell you….”

Instead of speaking, Minori pulled him close and kissed him. Kyoji clumsily returned the affection. Never before had the meaning felt clearer to him as now.

That meaning being love.

 


End file.
